


Most Wonderful Time of Year

by StoriesbyReese



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Holiday, supersanta2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-23 01:12:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17070656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoriesbyReese/pseuds/StoriesbyReese
Summary: It's their first Christmas as a family and Sam wants to make sure it's special for Alex





	Most Wonderful Time of Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smhfiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smhfiction/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, smhfiction! You had some really great prompts and I hope you really enjoy what I've done with them. Hope you have a wonderful holiday! 
> 
> Best Wishes  
> ~Reese

One of the best parts of dating was the chance to get to know the other person. At first it’s the little things. Sam learns that Alex likes her morning coffee with just a splash of milk, her tea with a splash of whiskey, and that she doesn’t bother toasting her pop-tarts. Frosted blueberry were Alex’s favorite. She discovers that despite the amount of teasing Alex dishes out to Kara, Lena, and Winn, she has her own nerdy side. Alex Danvers has a Gryffindor scarf in her closet, a Gryffindor t-shirt in her dresser drawer, Professor McGonagall’s wand hidden on one of her bedroom shelves, and Sam knew for a fact that Alex’s favorite coffee mug was the Gryffindor mug Ruby gave her their very first Christmas together. Sam also knew for a fact that Alex’s favorite time of year was Christmas. The badass redhead she’d found herself falling in love with more and more each day seemed to soften and brighten during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sam loved watching the way Alex looked at decorations as they went up all over the city, and the way Alex would start humming or singing Christmas carols under her breath. The first time Sam had heard Alex sing was when she was helping Ruby learn a song for her Christmas pageant the Christmas following Reign, and it had brought Sam to tears. Not only did Alex have a beautiful voice, but the way she was with Ruby just filled Sam’s heart with joy. 

Alex filled her heart with joy. So it wasn’t at all surprising that she’d asked Alex to move in with her and Ruby. “We’re already a family, Alex.” Sam had said as she and Alex held each other in Sam’s bed. “And you spend most of your time here anyway. Ruby and I love you and we want you here with us all the time.” Alex must have asked two dozen times if Sam was sure about wanting her to move in, and each time Sam had reassured her that it was want she wanted more than anything. So now her closet was home to Alex’s house scarf, it hung proudly next to her own. One of the drawers in Sam’s dresser was now home to Alex’s secret nerdy t-shirts, a shelf in the home office was home to her wand, and Alex’s favorite mug sat beside Sam’s Luke’s mug in the cupboard. 

It was their first Christmas together with Alex as a member of the household, so the weeks leading up to Christmas felt different this year. Last year, their first Christmas together as a couple, Alex had come over to help decorate but she had been there as a guest and just followed along with whatever Sam and Ruby were doing. This year Sam wanted to make sure that Alex felt she was more a part of things, that her traditions mattered just as much as theirs. “We traveled a lot when I was small, all over the world, for my parents work.” Alex had explained one morning over coffee while they made plans for the week. “But we were always home for Christmas, and the first thing we’d do was go out and get our tree.” 

The smile that tugged at Alex’s lips as she let herself think of her childhood Christmases warmed Sam’s heart and she couldn’t help but smile as well. Upon seeing that smile Sam set about finding a way to recreate that memory for her girlfriend. According to Kara, the Danvers would go out and cut their own tree the first weekend following the first of December. So after a little internet research Sam announced at dinner that evening that they would be going out to a tree farm that Saturday to get their tree. There had been a twitch to Alex’s eyes that told Sam she’d been surprised by the announcement, and the soft smile that bloomed on her lips told her that it was a good surprise.

Saturday morning started with Ruby launching herself into bed with the pair and wiggling between them until they both moaned in protest. Sam got her revenage by smacking Ruby in the face with a pillow while Alex opted for the tried and true tickle method. Since they wanted to get an early start they opted to have breakfast out, but first they all had to put on their matching Christmas sweaters, a new Danvers-Arias tradition. The sweaters were red with reindeer on them, each reindeer had a blue scarf with the name of the wearer written on it in white around its neck, and a gift tag hanging from it’s antler that said, “Merry Christmas from the Danvers-Arias Family!” 

On their way to the tree farm the trio stopped at iHop for breakfast and Ruby insisted that they could only order from the Holiday themed menu. As she watched them eating their green Grinch pancakes and sipping their whipped cream covered hot chocolates, Sam tried to decide who had the biggest smile, her daughter or her girlfriend. As she laughed at Alex putting whipped cream on Ruby’s nose, she thought maybe it was her because of just how incredibly happy she was. After everything that had happened with Reign, Sam had spent a lot of time worried that she would never feel like this again. She’d been afraid that all of that darkness that had festered inside of her, her whole life had tainted her ability to feel pure happiness and joy again. It was a relief to know Reign’s darkness hadn’t left her too damaged, only a little scared. 

Once they were back in Sam’s SUV and heading away from the city Alex switched on the Christmas music station and she and Ruby sang along. It wasn’t a big surprise that Ruby knew all the words to Justin Bieber’s Mistletoe and Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me, but it was a surprise that Alex did. When Sam turned her head to give her girlfriend a questioning look Alex simply replied, “Kara.” Sam nodded and smiled in acknowledgment, but something told her it wasn’t just Kara, and in fact that it would be hard to find a Christmas song Alex didn’t know. Sam had caught her singing the Beach Boy’s Little Saint Nick in the shower that morning. In fact she would put down good money that Kara’s knowledge of Christmas songs had come from Alex’s love of the holiday. 

It had been a bit of a long drive to get to the farm so all three of them were more than happy to get out and stretch their legs after parking in a huge open field. It was a crisp but thankfully dry day, otherwise they would have been trekking through a field of mud to get to the front gates. This far off from the city meant the air around them felt cleaner, the sun felt a little warmer despite the chill in the air, and as Sam took a deep breath she smiled at what she could only describe as the smell of Christmas. 

Alex smiled warmly at the look of joy on Sam’s face. “I’ve lived in cities for so long I’d forgotten that air doesn’t naturally smell exhaust and old hot dog water.” 

Sam crinkled her nose. “If you and Kara didn’t eat at those corner hot dog carts all the time that wouldn’t be a smell you associate with the city.” 

“Corner cart hot dogs are good, Mom!” Ruby said as the three made their way inside the main cluster of buildings. 

Sam shot Alex a look and Alex laughed. “You’ve been spending too much time with Lena, Sam. You’re becoming a food snob.” 

Beyond the front gates were a cluster of different buildings, large sheds, and barns full of pre-cut trees. One of the larger buildings was a gift shop, while another was a concession stand where they could get hot cocoa or hot apple cider, all kinds of Christmas cookies and cakes, candies, and warm nuts. The main building was where they would go to sign up for the hayride that would take them out to the cluster of trees they were allowed to cut themselves. It was also were Santa was set up. Ruby had only agreed to her yearly picture with Santa if Sam and Alex were in the picture with her. So while they waited on their hayride to be called up, the trio stood in line and took a picture with Santa. Santa’s throne was big enough for Ruby to sit beside him, with Alex and Sam sat on his other side together. Ruby had the biggest smile on her face because no matter what gifts she got this year, nothing could be better than having Alex as part of the family for real this year. Sam and Alex sat close together with their fingers laced together, and smiled almost as big as Ruby’s. 

Before climbing up into the red and white tractor pulled trailer with it’s blanket covered hay bale seats and straw covered floors, they each got a hot cider and Alex got a big bag of fire roasted chestnuts for them to share on the ride. As they made their way along the trail Sam snuggled into Alex’s side, Alex’s arm draped over her shoulder, and watched as Ruby actually paid attention to the young man who was explaining how the farm worked, and how christmas trees were grown. She could almost visually see her daughter soaking in every word, every moment, so she could recant the whole experience to Lena and Kara at the next get together. Once they reached the section of mature trees for cutting they were let loose to wander with a metal bow saw to cut the tree down, a collapsed metal pole with a flag on the end of it to mark where the tree is so it can be retrieved and transported back to the gates, and a zip tie tag to attach to the tree so they could claim the tree when they were ready to leave. 

“Slow down, Rubes!” Sam called out with amusement as her teenage daughter took off like an excited five year old. “There are literally hundreds of trees all around us and we have all afternoon to find the perfect one.” 

“The map says the grand firs are over there.” Alex said as she looked up from the map in her hand. “Hey Ruby, hang a left at that snowman crossing sign.” 

“Ok!” The girl called back.

Sam just shook her head and laughed. “Grand firs?” 

Alex nodded as she tucked the map into her coat pocket. “They’re really soft, bright green, and the smell is amazing.” 

Sam had never really paid much attention to what kind of tree they got. When Ruby was small and she was struggling their tree had been fake and bought for ten dollars at a second hand store. After she’d started working for her first major company in her first stable job in Central City, she’d rented a nice little two bedroom house and that Christmas, to make up for the one spent in the motel room the year before, Sam had gotten them their first real tree. It was small, but full, and it dropped needles everywhere, Ruby had loved it. 

When Alex noticed the look Sam was giving her she explained, “When Kara first moved in with us, everything was so new to her, new, and scary, and confusing, and even a little frightening. So she would learn as much as she possibly could about everything trying to fit in, or to make sense of something. When she learned about Christmas and christmas trees she became obsessed with learning about all the different kinds of trees used as christmas trees. I got caught up in her research and from then on grand firs were always our favorites.” 

Sam loved these moments with Alex. She knew that Alex still harbored a bit of guilt for being so shitty to Kara when she first arrived, so it wasn’t always easy for Alex to talk about those first few years in the history of the Danvers Sisters. Sam felt blessed each time Alex shared a little more. 

The expandable pole they had wasn’t just to mark the location of their tree once it was cut, it could also be used to measure the height of the tree. They had fairly high ceilings but they didn’t want a tree that was so tall they’d need superpowers to put the topper on. Sam was holding the pole up next to a beautiful tall and full tree as she asked, “What do you think, baby?” She was looking at the tree smiling, feeling as if this were the one, but when Alex didn’t respond her smile faulted a little. Looking around Sam didn’t see Alex anywhere. “Baby?” 

When Sam found her Alex was crouched down scratching the ears of a gray and white dog whose tongue was flopped out of the side of his mouth as his tail thumped against the ground. Sam just stood there watching, smiling. This wasn’t the first time Alex had come across a dog and gotten lost in showing it affection. In fact, coming across a dog, especially a mutt like this one, seemed to put the same light in Alex’s eyes as the holiday did. After a few more moments of just watching the woman she loved, Sam walked over to stand behind her. “Who's your friend, baby?” 

Alex looked up at Sam and smiled, “This is Baxter, according to his collar tag. Must be a farm dog.” 

Sam held out her hand for the dog to sniff and once she was sure it was safe she crouched down beside her girlfriend. “Hello Baxter.” 

Baxter flopped over offering up his tummy for rubs. Sam laughed as she gave in. 

“Baxter you big old ham.” Came the voice of the farm employees. “I’m so sorry, he’s just such a sucker for the ladies.” 

Sam and Alex stood as they chuckled. “It’s alright.” Alex replied. “He’s a good fella.” 

After watching Baxter run off with the young man from the farm Sam took Alex to the tree she’d found and Alex agreed it was perfect. When Ruby approved as well, Alex took the safety guard off the saw and got to work cutting it down. Sam attached the tag and Ruby planted their flag. When they got back to the main area they grabbed some cocoa and cookies and ventured into the gift shop for a bit. Sam picked out a big beautiful wreath for the front door, as well as some garland to use outside as well. Eliza had been kind enough to send a box of some of Alex’s favorite decorations, and Sam and Ruby had their boxes full, but this was their first Christmas as a family so they picked up some new ornaments, including a personalized one with two big snow ladies, and a little snow girl, which they had their names and the year painted onto. 

After leaving the farm with the tree strapped to the top of Sam’s SUV they decided to pick up dinner on the way home and spend the rest of the evening, after setting the tree up in the corner of the living room, watching Hallmark Christmas movies. They would give the tree a couple of days to settle and then start decorating it. Meanwhile Ruby took lots of video of her moms putting lights and garland up outside, some of which was really shaky because of the teen’s laughter. 

“Alex be careful!” Sam shouted from the sidewalk. 

“I am being careful!” Alex replied from the ladder as she strung up lights over the entrance. 

“You’re leaning to much to the left, you’re going to…” 

“Woman if you don’t stop backseat decorating and shouting at me!” 

Ruby was laughing hard. “My moms are such dorks.”

A few days later the Danvers-Arias home was filled with warm smells of cookies of every type baking, popcorn popping, fresh wood burning in the fireplace, and the sounds of christmas music as the family of three decorated their beautiful tree. One of the many boxes that littered the living room was one Sam had brought home from her mother’s house. Alex went through the box carefully, wanting to not only be respectful of Sam’s memories of her mother, but also because she wanted to get to know Sam a little better through the family treasures the box held. Every time she pulled an ornament or decoration from the box she would show it to Sam and her girlfriend would tell her about it, and with each one the stories because easier for Sam to tell. The one Alex unwrapped from old yellowed tissue paper was a handmade ornament with a picture of a tiny little Sam in the center. 

“Nice haircut.” Alex teased her girl as she held up the star shaped ornament. In the photograph glued to the center Sam must have been around four or five, her chestnut hair ringing her head in a bowl cut, her arms wrapped around the neck of a scruffy looking little white mutt. 

Sam paused in draping strands of popcorn around the tree to see what Alex was talking about. She laughed when she saw the picture. “I absolutely refused to let Momma do anything with my hair, so when she got tired of yelling at me to sit still when she tried to brush it out she had it cut and kept it short until I was old enough to take care of it myself.”

Alex stood from where she’d been sitting on the floor to walk the ornament over to Sam. “Who’s your friend?” 

“That’s Dusty.” Sam answered with fondness. “He was my first best friend, and for the longest time, my only friend.” There was something about the way Alex smiled as she hung the ornament on the tree that made Sam ask, “Did you have any furry best friends growing up?” 

“Not really.” Alex answered. “Until Kara moved in with us we traveled a lot, and having a pet didn’t really mesh with that. Kara had a cat though. Streaky. He was kind of a therapy cat before the whole therapy animal thing was even a thing. When she first arrived she was very closed off, scared of her new powers, refused to let anyone get close to her in any way, but then she discovered this little black stay and the more time she spent with it the more open she became with the rest of us.” 

“Animals are good for that.” Sam said with a warm smile. “But I wasn’t asking about Kara, baby. I was asking about you.” 

Alex bit her lip in a sheepish way. It was still kind of new to her, being the center of someone’s attention and not having to share that with Kara. “Well, there was this one time.” She finally said after a long moment of thought. “My Dad was working in South America and my Mom was about to start this project in Ghana. They decided the Ghana project was the safer of the two so I went with my Mom. I hated these kinds of trips. I was too young to appropriate the experiences my parents were giving me at the time. I just knew I’d have to live in some tiny space in a place with no tv, shitty radio, and none of the things I liked to do at home.”

Sam finished hanging the popcorn garland and then moved across the room to get the mulled wine she’d made for them. She handed Alex her glass while telling the redhead to continue, please. 

“There was this stray mutt that hung out around the nearby village and the research base we were staying at.” Alex said as she smiled at Sam and took the wine. “He hated everyone, was always growling and snapping at people, though he was never vicious. He never hurt anyone, he just didn’t like anyone. I didn’t like anyone either at the time so I guess we were kindred spirits. He started following me around whenever I was in the village and then followed me back the research base. I started calling him Walter and for the whole four months we were there he was always right where I was. We tried to bring him with us when it was time to come back to the States, but there are laws about bringing stray dogs home from other countries. The people at the research base kept him and would send me letters about him until he died.”

Sam wrapped her arms around Alex and kissed her cheek. “I bet you two were adorable in your mutual grumpiness.” 

Alex laughed. “In hindsight, sure, but at the time, my poor Mom had to put up with us and our attitudes.” 

“I should ask Eliza about sullen Alex when we she gets here.” Sam teased. 

“She loves telling stories about me and Kara.” Alex laughed. “You’ll make her whole holiday if you do.” 

Sam had always done her very best to make homes for her and Ruby no matter where they were or how much money they had. She had always felt that, hoped that, she had done her very best and that Ruby had never felt as if anything were missing. It wasn’t until Alex had moved in that Sam realized there had been, and that’s only because Ruby had pointed it out. Her perspective daughter had told her one afternoon that she was so glad that Sam had finally done something for her own happiness. Ruby said that she knew Sam had sacrificed a lot for her, and while she loved the life Sam had given her, she was happy Sam had finally let someone in, that her mom was finally being loved by someone the way she deserved to be. Alex had completed their family in a way Sam hadn’t expected and she wanted to do something special to let Alex know how much she loved what they were building together. So after talking out a few ideas with Kara, and exchanging a couple of emails with Eliza, Sam began formulating a plan. 

Christmas Eve would be spent at Kara’s and when they first walked in Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree was playing softly from hidden speakers and Sam teased up a little. She still had a vague memory of that song playing in the background during the Reign-Supergirl fright that had nearly killed Supergirl. Of course mere moments after she tensed up, Sam relaxed as Alex slipped her hand into her own. They smiled at each other and Sam relaxed just as Kara and Lena approached to greet them with hugs. 

“What’s that?” Sam asked after she spotted the key on a red ribbon that hung around Lena’s neck. “It’s not your normal taste in jewelry.” 

Lena beamed brightly as she pressed a hand against the key. “Kara asked me to move in with her.” 

“And she said yes!” Kara said brightly, proudly, happily. 

“That’s wonderful!” Sam replied. 

“About damn time.” Alex added. 

Dinner was wonderful. It was always a blessing to be all together like this, just a family spending time together, appreciating each other, in the warmth of one of their homes instead of saving the city, or the world, or each other from the evils lurking just outside their happy bubble. Eliza sat at the head of the table with the look of a mother filled with joy over her children’s happiness. J’onn sat at the other end looking as if he were soaking every moment into his memory, a look of gratitude at having been given a second chance to have a family. Sam felt the start of tears burning her eyes as her heart swelled and when she looked over at Lena she knew her friend was having the same feelings. Despite everything, they had been accepted and welcomed into this family wholeheartedly. 

Ruby had gotten to open the family gift from Lena and when she realized what it was she screamed so loud Alex and J’onn jumped up as if ready to protect them all from danger. Ruby dropped the gift box when she launched herself at Lena and when Sam looked inside her eyes went wide. She turned her gaze to her friend. “Lena!” 

“What?” Lena squeaked as Ruby crushed her ability to breath. “Too much?” 

“What is it?” Alex asked. 

Sam held up the box with Disney Magic bands and VIP Universal tickets while Ruby shouted. “We’re going to Disney and Harry Potter worlds!” 

Now that she could breathe again Lena said, “I thought a family vacation might be nice.” 

The fact that big badass Alex couldn’t hide her excitement at going to Harry Potter World made Sam love just a little bit more. 

When they got home from Kara and Lena’s it took forever to get Ruby to bed. She was to old for the whole, Santa won’t come if you’re not asleep thing, so they just had to wait until the excitement from their evening with family wore off and she crashed. Then they spent what was left of Christmas Eve and the first few hours of Christmas morning wrapped in each others arms showing each other just how much they loved, adored and cherished each other. 

Sam had a pretty good sixth sense when it came to Ruby and Alex, so she was able to wake up before either of them. She had a few more presents to put under the tree, and one she needed to make sure was delivered at just the right moment. Then at around eight she began making breakfast. Cinnamon rolls to start, then something more substantial after all of the presents were opened. The smell of the rolls and freshly brewed coffee drew Alex from their bed first. Sam smiled as she watched Alex walk into the kitchen wearing her Christmas pjs. “Good morning.” 

Alex hummed softly as she reached for Sam to pull her close and nuzzle her face into Sam’s neck. “Morning babe.” 

“Merry Christmas, Alex.” Sam said softly as she wrapped her arms around her love. 

Alex smiled against the warm skin of Sam’s neck before pulling away to kiss her softly. “Merry Christmas, Sam.” 

Ruby announced her presence with an excite shout of, “MOMS! There are presents to open!!” 

Sam felt Alex tense in her arms a little and quickly asked, “Baby?”

“She said moms.” Alex whispered. “With an S.” 

“She did.” Sam said with a nod. “Are you ok with that?” 

“I am if she is, if you are.” Alex replied. 

Sam reached up to hold Alex’s face in her hands and kiss her before saying, “Let’s go open presents with our daughter.” 

“Ok.” Alex replied with the biggest smile and tears in her eyes. 

The last present to open arrived at ten a.m.. Sam excused herself from the couch and maneuvered her way through the heaps of wrapping paper and ribbon to answer the door. When she returned she was carrying a large beautifully wrapped box, and had a smile so bright it out shone the lights on the tree. “There’s one more present that needs opening.” She said as she very carefully put the box beside Alex on the sofa. “Merry Christmas, baby.” 

“I get the final present?” Alex asked questionly. 

Ruby nodded and said, “Open it! Open it!” 

“Ok. ok.” Alex said with a laugh. Reaching for the top of the box Alex had no idea what to expect inside, which is why she gasped a little yelp of surprise when a tiny black head with brown markings over its eyes and on it’s ears suddenly poked out of the box. Golden brown eyes looked right into her own brown eyes as a little black tail with a white tip wagged happily. Tears welled in Alex’s eyes as she covered her mouth to hold back a soft sob. The little mutt puppy tried it’s damndest to climb out of the box, tired of waiting for it’s new human to get it out. 

Sam sat on the other side of the box and looked at Alex with a bit of concern. Had she been wrong? Did Alex not want a dog? Maybe she should have let Alex pick it out herself? But Kara reassured her that Alex would love any dog but especially a rescue, and especially one that kind of looked like the dog from the pictures Eliza had sent. “Alex?” 

“It’s a puppy.” Alex finally said when she could find words. She looked up at Sam with wide heart filled eyes. “You got me a puppy?” 

“Yes.” Sam said softly. “I thought…” 

 

Before Sam could express her concerns about having messed up Alex had closed the distance between them to kiss her. Then as she pulled away she finally reached into the box to pick up the puppy and bring it to her chest. 

“I take it you like her?” Sam said with a chuckle of relief. 

“I love her!” Alex replied while the puppy licked her face. 

Sam relaxed and moved the box out of the way so she could sit beside Alex. Ruby settled in on Alex’s otherside and the three of them snuggled close as they got to know the newest member of their family. When Kara, Lena, and Eliza arrived for dinner that night they were introduced to Noel Danvers-Arias. 

Standing out in the yard with her sister while Noel wet potty Alex looked through the french doors into the house and watched Sam with Eliza. Without taking her eyes off the woman she loved she said, “Hey Kara.” 

“Yeah?” The blonde replied as she picked up her new puppy niece to give her kisses. 

“I’m going to marry her.” Alex said with a smile. 

Kara put her arm around her sister and said, “You’d better. She got you a freaking puppy. Now that’s love.” 

Alex laughed as she took Noel from her sister’s arms. “What do you say, Noel? Do you want to help me propose to that beautiful woman in there?” The puppy barked happily. “In that case, it’s going to be one hell of a New Year’s Eve.”


End file.
